Amalgamator



June 14, 1938. w. s. DE LlsLE y' AMAIJGAMATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledNov. 2'7, r1935 June 14, 1938. w. s. DE LlsLE 2,120,859

' AMALGAMATOR Filed Nov. 27, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 14,193s UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AMALGAMATOR Winfield S. De Lisle,Colonia, N. J. lApplication November 27, 1935, Serial No. 51,958 y 9Claims. (C1. 209-205) fg? is present in relatively small proportion andwhich it has heretofore been unprotable to extract.

A more particular object of the invention is to provide an amalgamatorwherein the ore con- 1"(5 taining the gold or other metal is forceddownwardly into a bath of mercury in a manner which will effectivelyexpose the gold or metal to the mercury, thus insuring Aamalgamation ofsuch gold or metal as the ore may contain, with the mercury. Y

Another object is to provide an amalgamator wherein feed water and theore are carried down into the mercury and spread so that any gold ormetal contained in the ore will be amalga- 25; mated by the mercury andflaky or other parti- Y cles of the gold or metal which tend to floatwill be prevented from washing away with the tailings and thus lost. v

Another object is to provide novel means for V`gyfsubmerging the ore inthe mercury whereby effective contact between the ore and mercury isproduced without undue agitation of the mercury, thus minimizingflouring of the mercury.

A further object of the invention is to provide an amalgamator means forsupplying wash water to remove the tailings from the mercury,

in combination with a baffle over which the tailings pass and whichprotects the mercury which lies beneath it.

To these and other ends, ythe invention consists in certain improvementsand combinations and arrangements of parts all as will be hereinaftermore fully described, thefeatures of novelty being pointed out moreparticularly in thev 45 claims at the end of this specification.

' In the accompanying drawings:-

Figure l isa top plan View, partly in section, of an amalgamatorconstructed in accordance with the present invention;.

50"' Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the amalgamatorshown in Fig. l;

Figure 3 is a transverse vertical section, on an enlarged scale `withportions broken-away;

Figure 4 is a vertical section taken on the line 53?;4-4 in Fig. 3; and

' -tailings -discharge chute I0.

Figure 5 is a detail View of one of the distributor pipes for supplyingfeed water or wash water.

Similar parts are designatedv by the same reference characters in theseveral figures. Y

The amalgamator shown in the present in stance is particularly adaptedfor the extraction of ne particles of gold from ore in a pulverizedstate or state4 of fine subdivision, but it isl to be understood thatthe invention isV applicable to the extraction of other metals capableof amalgamating with .mercury and that the invention is not restrictedto the precise construction shown since equivalent constructions arecontemplated and such will be included within the scope of the claims. Y

The amalgamator, as shown in the present instance, comprises a suitableframe which may consist of longitudinally extending laterally spacedside members l and a connecting cross member 2, this frame supportingWithin it a pan or receptacle 3, composed preferably. of sheet iron orother suitable metal which will not amalgamate with mercury, this panbeing supported within the frame by a suitable number of angle irons 4.This pan or receptacleforms a well in which is contained a body or bathof mercury 5, and the bottom of the well is provided with an opening 6through which the amalgamated gold may be withdrawn from' time to time,this opening being normally closed by suitable means such as by a screwplug 1. The portion 8V of the pan toward the end thereof which receivesthe ore is at a level slightly higher than the. portion 9 thereof atwhich the ore tailings are discharged, the portion 9 preferably slopingdownwardly to a 'Ihe pan is filled withthe mercury to a level :1: whichis slightly below the edge ila over which the tailings discharge inorder to prevent discharge of the mercury from the pan, but permit thetailings to discharge from the surface of the body of mercury. f

A drum I I is mounted on the frame in cooperative relation with the`mercury containing pan or receptacle. As shown in the present instance,this drum comprises a cylindrical peripheral portion I2, which may becomposed of wood or other suitable material not affected by the mercury,and apair of circularend members or heads I3 which may beV composed Vofiron or other suitable material inert to the mercury, the heads of thekdrum being clamped against the ends of the cylindrical portion I2thereof by a lsuitable Vnumber of tire bolts I4. The drum is supportedrotatably in the frame by a shaft l5 which is xed in the heads I3 and isjournalled to rotate in bearings I6 which may be supported on the sidemembers I of the frame, and this shaft is provided with suitable meansfor rotating it, as 'for example a belt pulley I'I fixed on this shaft.

'Ihe cylindrical or peripheral portion I2 of the drum has a series ofights or blades I8 arranged thereon in circumferentially spaced rela-`tion around its circumference and extending between the heads I3 of thedrum. These nights extend longitudinally of the drum but are arrangedpreferably at a slight angle to the axis of the drum so that the ends ofthe flights at one end of the drum will be slightly in advance of theends thereof at the opposite end of the drum, ,for a purpose which willhereinafter appear. The flights IB are preferably of angle form in crosssection, one flange of each flight being secured to the periphery of theportion I2 of the drum and the other flange thereof projecting outwardlyfrom the periphery of the portion I2. YThe flights are preferablysomewhat longer than the peripheral portion I2 of the drum, and theinner faces of the heads I3 are preferably provided with coatings I9 ofrubber which may be vulcanized in recesses 2li in the inner faces of theheads I3, so that When these heads are drawn together by the tie boltsI4, theends of the flights will become imbedded more or less in theserubber surfaces, thereby providing fluidtight joints between the headsi3 and the ends 'fof the flights, and the ends of the peripheral portionI2 of the drum will form uid tight joints with the heads I3.

The drum is mounted at such a height in relation to the pan 3 that theunder side of its cylindrical peripheral portion I2 will beapproximately tangential to the surface :r of the body of mercury 5 butwill dip slightly below said surface, and the flights projectingoutwardly from the surface of the peripheral portion I2 will be immersedin the mercury and will travel therethrough during rotation of the drum.The flights are composed preferably of so-called galvanized iron, thatis iron coated with zinc, it having beenY found that the presence ofzinc in the mercury bath promotes or facilitates the amalgamation of thegold with the mercury. In order to prevent the passage of water or orearound the ends of the drum, sealing strips 2li,v

composed of rubber or other suitable material are secured to the innersides of the frame members I, these sealing strips extending downwardlyto the lower edges of the heads I3 and having a wiping contact with theouter sides of these heads of the drum, thereby completely sealing thespaces at the ends of the drum and making it impossible for anything topass to the discharge side of the drum without passing down through themercury.

A hopper 2l is mounted on the frame at one side of the drum and abovethe portion 8 of the pan, this hopper being adapted to` receive thegold-containing ore in a pulverized or finely divided state, the lowerportion of this hopper having an inclined bottom 22 and a dischargeopening 23 which may be controlledV by a vertically adjustable gate 24which regulates the rate of feed of the ore to the amalgamator. Theinclined bottom 22 of this hopper is preferably eX- tended downwardlybetween the heads I3 of the drum and to a level slightly above thesurface of the body of mercury in the pan, so that the ore `will be fedat a point close to the surface of the body of mercury and in closerelation to the periphery of the drum. Feed water is fed to theamalgamator with the crushed ore or through a pipe 25 which is connectedto a horizontal distributing pipe 26, lthe latter being locatedpreferably beneath the inclined bottom 22 of the ore supply hopper 2land having a series of perforations 27 therein disposed at such an angleas to discharge feed Water beneath the lower edge of the inclined hopperbottom 22 and against the ore as the latter comes into contact with thebody of mercury. A wash Water pipe 28 is provided, it supplying washwater to a distributing pipe 29 located at the opposite side of thedrum, the distributing pipe having a series of perforations 3B thereindisposed to project jets of wash water against the periphery of thedrum, thereby washing any small globules of mercury, or particles ofYore or gold which might adhere to the drum and tend to be lifted therebyfrom the body of mercury. A baffle or plate Y3| is also preferablyprovided, it being supported to extend across the mercury containing pansub- Vto project wash water onto the upper surface of the inclinedbaffle or plate 3|.

In order to prevent loss of any mercury which may have become floured orbroken into small particles during the operation of the amalgamator, apair of electrodes 34 and 35 are provided at or adjacent to the ends ofthe mercury containing pan 3, these electrodes being submerged in themercury immediately below the surface thereof, these electrodes beingsupported in the pan by suitable insulators 3S and being connectedy to asuitable source of electric current 31 which supplies electric currentto the electrodes during the operation of the amalgamator.- Y v Inoperation, the pan or receptacle 3 is supplied with a body of mercury 5to a level :r which is slightly below the edge or lip 9a over which thetailings discharge, the drum is revolved continuously and at arelatively low speed, as for example about ten revolutions per minute,the ore containing the gold, and which may be crushed or otherwisefinely divided is supplied to the feed hopper 2l, and feed water andwash water supplied to the pipes 25 and 28 respectively. The crushed ornely divided ore is fed by the hopper 2l to the surface :c of the bodyof mercury in the path of the flights I8 onthe drum, which revolves inan anti-clockwise direction in Figure 2. As the flights enter the bodyof mercury they trap beneath them the ore fed from the hopper 2| andwhich is flowed toward the drum by the jets of water from thedistributing pipe 26, and

the ore thus trapped beneath the flights, together with Water and sandor other material associated With the ore is forced down into the bodyof mercury and is discharged at the opposite side of the drum. `Duringthe carrying of the ore through the body of mercury by the flights onthe drum, the ore is spread, by the upward pressure of the mercury,against the periphery of the cylindrical portion I2 of the drum, thusspreading the ore into aV thin layer which insures contact of themercury with any free gold contained in the orerso that such gold willbe effectively amalgamated by the mercury, and the amalgamated gold,being heavier than the mercury, will sink to the bottom ofV the mercurycontaining pan. The tailings or sand carried be? neath the drum by the.vrotation thereof and which floats on the. surface of. the body ofmercury, will be washed over the discharge edge or lip Se and willdischarge over the chute I0, the dischargeof the tailingsbeing Vassistedby the wash water: from the distributor pipe 29. The wash water fromtheopenings in this distributor pipe and which are projected against theperiphery of the drum and the flights thereon, will effectivelyv washany particles yof mercury, gold or other material which might adhere tothedrum and be lifted vfrom the mercury, and thevjetsofwash Waterfromthe openings 3:2 in the distributor pipe 29, which discharge at anangle toward the tailings `discharge lip Se, will actto advance thetailings toward the tailings discharge. By arranging the jets of washwater from the openings 32 to discharge on the upper' side of thedownwardly inclined' baille or plate 3l, the tailings will be`discharged over this plate toward the tailings discharge, the baffle 3|preventing undue agitation of the mercury by these wash water jets. Byarranging the il flights I8 Von the periphery of the drum at an angle tothe axis thereof so that the ends of the flight at one end of the drumare somewhat.

in advance of those at the other end ofthe drum, the flights will enterthe bathor pool of vrner- 'cury .progressively, from one end to theother,

thereby avoiding impact between the flights and mercury which would tendto flour it, and since the substantially radial portions of the flightsare nearly vertical when they enter the mercury, since the periphery ofthe drum is immersed to only a small depth in the mercury, impact of theflights on the mercury is Vthus further reduced, thereby furtherminimizing flouring of the mercury. The gold which is amalgamated by themercury'during the passageiof the gold containing oretherethrough;settles to the lowermost portion of the mercury containing pan 3, andthe amalgamated gold may be removed from the pan fromtime to time, byremoving theplug 1. The gold may be separated from the amalgam in anysuitable and well-known way, as by vaporization of the mercury. Y

By immersing the revoluble drum only slightly below the surface of thebath or pool of mercury, the pulp or gold bearing ore is all carriedbeneath the surface of the mercury so that no portion of the ore\candischarge until after it has been exposed to the mercury, thus affordingan opportunity for the mercury to amalgamate with any gold contained. inthe ore. Since the feed water must also pass through the mercury beforedischarging, there is no opportunity for flaky or light gold, or flouror float gold that is held in suspension in the water due to surfacetension, to float or be washed away to the outlet and thus lost, butsuch gold will be submerged in the mercury and amalgamated therewith.

The shallow immersion of the lower side of the periphery of the drumcauses the projecting flights on the drum to contact with the mercuryfirst at their outer edges, thereby trapping or pocketing the orebeneath the flights so that it cannot escape and therefore must enterthe mercury as the drum revolves and such manner of contact of theflights with the surface of the mercury takes place substantiallywithout impact or agitation of the mercury to the extent tocauseilouring thereof, flouring of the mercury being further minimizedby the progressive engagement'of the flights, from end to end, with thesurface ofthe. mercury, due to theangular pitch of the'flights withrespect to the axis'of the drum. v

Byy feeding water to the ore as it is fed-to the surface of the mercurypool, the ore is spread and carried 'into position beneath the flights,and rotation of the drum causes the ore beneath the flights to be spreadout, thus affording an opportunity for the mercury to contact with andamalgamate all particles of gold contained in the ore, before the orereaches the tailings discharge, and all'of the ore must pass through themercury before reaching the tailings discharge, the drum and the sealingstrips at the ends thereof forming, in effect, a barrier between theorev feed hopper and the tailings discharge.

Since the flights extend only slightly below the surface of the mercury,they will not carry sand from the ore down into the lower portion of thepool of mercury Where ity would mix' with .the amalgamated gold, whichwould be objectionable;

By providing the electrodes in the mercury and water pool, obstructionto the discharge of the flanges at its ends and longitudinal flights onits periphery extending continuously between the flanges and at anincline to the axis of the drum, the drum being mounted rotatably withthe lower side of its periphery in contact with the surface of themercury, and means for feeding ore' to the surface of the mercury at oneside of the drum.

2. An amalgamator comprising a receptacle containing a bath of mercury,a cylindrical drum having peripheral flanges and blade-likeflightsprojecting radially from itsr periphery and ex'-v tending continuouslybetween the flanges at a slight angle to the axis of the drum, the drumbeing mounted to rotate-with the lower side of its periphery in contactwith the surface of the mercury and to carry the nights thereon progressively from end to end into the mercury, and means for feeding oreto the surface of the mercury at one side of the drum.

3. An amalgamator comprising a receptacle containing a body of mercury,a drum having flights projecting from Vits periphery and mounted torotate with the lower side of its periph ery in contact with the surfaceof the mercury, means for feeding ore and jets of water to the same areaof the surface of the mercury at one side of the drum, a baille platemounted at the other side of the drum and having an upper surfacedisposed substantially at the level of the surface of the mercury andinclined downwardly away from the drum, and means for injecting washWater Vagainst the other side of the drum to wash ore therefrom fordischarge over the baille.

4. An amalgamator comprising a receptacle containing a body of mercury,a drum having flights projecting from its periphery and mounted torotate with the lower side of its periphery in contact with the surfaceof the mercury, means for feeding ore and water to the same area of thesurface of the mercury at one side of the drum,

vcontaining a body of mercury, a drum having toV a baille. plate havingan. upper surface disposed substantially at the surface of the mercuryat the other side of the drum and inclined away from the drum for thepassage thereover of ore discharged from the drum, and means forinjecting water onto the upper surface of said baille plate to washtailings thereover.

5. An amalgamator comprising a receptacle containing a bath of mercury,means for feeding ore and water to the surface of the mercury, a drummounted to rotate with its periphery located approximately tangentiallyto the surface of the mercury, the drum having circumferential flangesat its ends and flights projecting from its periphery and extendingcontinuously between said end flanges at an incline to the axis of thedrum, the flights being submergible progressively from end to end in thebath' of mercury and movable through the mercury during relatively lowspeed of rotation of the drum to submerge the ore and water below thesurface of the mercury and thereby amalgamate flour gold in suspensionin the water, and 'means for projecting wash water against the flightson the drum as the flights emerge from 'the bath of mercury.

6. An amalgamator comprising a pan containing a bath of mercury andhaving a discharge atA one end located approximately on the level of thesurface of the mercury,` a drum mounted rotatably with the lower side ofits periphery approximately tangential to and in contact with thesurface of the mercury, means for feeding ore and water to the surfaceof the mercury at one side of the drum, a baille plate mounted at thedischarge side of the drum and having an upper surface substantially atthelevel of the surface of the mercury to receive ore discharged fromthe drum, said upper surface of the baie plate being inclined downwardlytoward the discharge, and means for projecting jets of wash wateragainst the upper side of the baffle plate and toward the discharge.

'7. An amalgamator comprising a pan containing a bath of mercury andwater and having a discharge at one end located approximately on thelevel of the surface of the mercury, a drum mounted rotatably with thelower side of its periphery approximately tangential to and in contactwith the surface of the mercury and having flights projecting fromr itsperiphery and eX- tending at an incline to the axis of the drum, meansfor feeding ore and water to the surface of the mercury at one side ofthe drum, a baffle plate located at the other side of the drum andhaving an upper surface located substantially at the level of thesurface of the mercury and inclined downwardly toward said discharge,and means for projecting water onto said upper surface of said bailleplate and also against the adjacent side of the drum.

8. An amalgamator comprising a receptacle containing a body of mercury,and a drum mounted with the lower side of its periphery in contact withthe surface of the mercury and comprising a pair of end heads'havingsurfaces of yielding material applied to their inner sides adjacent totheir peripheries, and an annular series of circumferentially spacedights extending longitudinally of the df'rum between said heads andhaving their ends clamped and sealed against said surfaces of yieldingmaterial.

9. An amalgamator comprising a receptacle containing a body of mercury,and a drum mounted with the lower sidel of its periphery in contact withthe surface of the mercury and comprising a pair of end heads providedat their inner sides and adjacent to their peripheries with coatings ofrubber, a cylindrical peripheral portion extending between said headsand engaging at its ends with said rubber coatings on said heads, anannular series of flights arranged in circumferentially spaced relationaround the periphery of said cylindrical portion and engaging at theirends with said rubber coatings on said heads, and means for drawing saidheads together to embed and seal the ends of said cylindrical portionand the flights in said rubber coatings.

WINFIELD S. DE LISLE.

